Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
2,603
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
2,603 results for “Ecological data”
Data from: Linking topological structure and dynamics in ecological networks
Interaction networks are basic descriptions of ecological communities and are at the core of community dynamics models. Knowledge of their structure should enable us to understand dynamical properties of ecological communities. However, the relationships between dynamical properties of communities and qualitative descriptors of network structure remain unclear. To improve our understanding of such relationships, we develop a framework based on the concept of strongly connected components, which are key structural components of networks necessary to explain stability properties such as persistence and robustness. We illustrate this framework for the analysis of qualitative empirical food webs and plant-plant interaction networks. Both types of networks exhibit high persistence (on average, 99% and 80% of species, respectively, are expected to persist) and robustness (only 0.2% and 2% of species are expected to disappear following the extinction of a species). Each of the networks is structured as a large group of interconnected species accompanied by much smaller groups that most often consist of a single species. This low-modularity configuration can be explained by a negative modularity-stability relationship. Our results suggest that ecological communities are not typically structured in multispecies compartments and that compartmentalization decreases robustness.
Data from: Does adaptive radiation of a host lineage promote ecological diversity of its bacterial communities? A test using gut microbiota of Anolis lizards
Adaptive radiations provide unique opportunities to test whether and how recent ecological and evolutionary diversification of host species structures the composition of entire bacterial communities. We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing of faecal samples to test for differences in the gut microbiota of six species of Puerto Rican Anolis lizards characterized by the evolution of distinct 'ecomorphs' related to differences in habitat use. We found substantial variation in the composition of the microbiota within each species and ecomorph (trunk-crown, trunk-ground, grass-bush), but no differences in bacterial alpha diversity among species or ecomorphs. Beta diversity analyses revealed subtle but significant differences in bacterial composition related to host phylogeny and species, but these differences were not consistently associated with Anolis ecomorph. Comparison of a trunk-ground species from this clade (A. cristatellus) with a distantly related member of the same ecomorph class (A. sagrei) where the two species have been introduced and are now sympatric in Florida revealed pronounced differences in the alpha diversity and beta diversity of their microbiota despite their ecological similarity. Comparisons of these populations with allopatric conspecifics also revealed geographic differences in bacterial alpha diversity and beta diversity within each species. Finally, we observed high intraindividual variation over time and strong effects of a simplified laboratory diet on the microbiota of A. sagrei. Collectively, our results indicate that bacterial communities are only weakly shaped by the diversification of their lizard hosts due to the strikingly high levels of bacterial diversity and variation observed within Anolis species.
Data from: Species-specific differences in adaptive phenotypic plasticity in an ecologically relevant trophic trait: hypertrophic lips in Midas cichlid fishes
The spectacular species richness of cichlids and their diversity in morphology, coloration, and behaviour have made them an ideal model for the study of speciation and adaptive evolution. Hypertrophic lips evolved repeatedly and independently in African and Neotropical cichlid radiations. Cichlids with hypertrophic lips forage predominantly in rocky crevices and it has been hypothesized that mechanical stress caused by friction could result in larger lips through phenotypic plasticity. To test the influence of the environment on the size and development of lips, we conducted a series of breeding and feeding experiments on Midas cichlids. Full-sibs of Amphilophus labiatus (thick-lipped) and A. citrinellus (thin-lipped) each were split into a control group which was fed food from the water column and a treatment group whose food was fixed to substrates. We found strong evidence for phenotypic plasticity on lip area in the thick-lipped species, but not in the thin-lipped species. Intermediate phenotypic values were observed in hybrids from thick- and thin-lipped species reared under "control" conditions. Thus, both a genetic, but also a phenotypic plastic component is involved in the development of hypertrophic lips in Neotropical cichlids. Moreover, species-specific adaptive phenotypic plasticity was found, suggesting that plasticity is selected for in recent thick-lipped species.
Data from: A recombination suppressor contributes to ecological speciation in Ostrinia moths
Despite unparalleled access to species' genomes in our post-genomic age, we often lack adequate biological explanations for a major hallmark of the speciation process—genetic divergence. In the presence of gene flow, chromosomal rearrangements such as inversions are thought to promote divergence and facilitate speciation by suppressing recombination. Using a combination of genetic crosses, phenotyping of a trait underlying ecological isolation, and population genetic analysis of wild populations, we set out to determine whether evidence supports a role for recombination suppressors during speciation between the Z and E strains of European corn borer moth (Ostrinia nubilalis). Our results are consistent with the presence of an inversion that has contributed to accumulation of ecologically adaptive alleles and genetic differentiation across roughly 20% of the Ostrinia sex chromosome (~4 Mb). Patterns in Ostrinia suggest that chromosomal divergence may involve two separate phases—one driving its transient origin through local adaptation and one determining its stable persistence through differential introgression. As the evolutionary rate of rearrangements in lepidopteran genomes appears to be one of the fastest among eukaryotes, structural mutations may have had a disproportionate role during adaptive divergence and speciation in Ostrinia and in other moths and butterflies.
Data from: Environmental disturbance alters the ecological impact of an invading shrimp
1. Alien species are altering ecosystems around the globe. To predict and manage their impacts, the underlying mechanisms need to be understood. This is challenging in ecosystems undergoing multiple disturbances as unexpected interactions can alter the impact of individual disturbances. Such interactions are likely to be common in disturbed ecosystems, but have so far received little attention. 2. We investigated whether interactions between an invading shrimp Palaemon elegans and another human-induced disturbance, the population growth of a native mesopredator, the threespine stickleback, influences a third human-induced disturbance, the increase in biomass of filamentous algae. Increases in both the native mesopredator population and algal biomass have been promoted by eutrophication and a trophic cascade triggered by declining predatory fish stocks. 3. We used mesocosm and field enclosure experiments, combined with analyses of long-term trends in the abundance of the invader and the native mesopredator, to dissect the influence of the two species on algal biomass when alone and when co-occurring. 4. The impact of the invader on algal biomass depended on the native mesopredator; shrimp on their own had no effect on algal growth, but mitigated algae accumulation when competing with the stickleback for resources. Competition caused the shrimp to shift its diet from grazers to algae, and its habitat choice from open to vegetated habitats. The native mesopredator, in contrast, increased algal biomass irrespective of the presence of the invader, by preying on grazers and inducing a trophic cascade. 5. Our results show that the presence of a native mesopredator causes an invader to alter its behaviour and thereby its ecological impact. This demonstrates that interactions between invaders and other anthropogenic disturbances can alter the ecological impact of invaders, and, notably, that the impact of invaders can be positive and stabilise disturbed ecosystems. These results stress the importance of considering interactions among disturbances when investigating the ecological impact of alien species.
Data from: Editor and reviewer gender influence the peer review process but not peer review outcomes at an ecology journal
Lack of diversity on editorial boards might generate disparities in editorial and peer review that contribute to gender and geographic disparities in scholarly publishing. We use a comprehensive data set of the peer review process for all papers submitted to the journal Functional Ecology from January 2004 to June 2014 to examine how gender, seniority and geographic location of editors and reviewers influence reviewer recruitment and scores given to papers by reviewers. The gender ratio of editors for Functional Ecology was majority male, but the proportion of female editors increased over time. The gender ratio of selected reviewers was also highly majority male, but the proportion of women selected as reviewers increased over the 10 years largely because the number of women on the editorial board increased and female editors invited more female reviewers than did male editors. Male editors selected <25% female reviewers even in the year they selected the most women, but female editors consistently selected ˜30–35% female reviewers. Editors also over-selected reviewers from their own geographic locality. Women invited to review were less likely to respond to review invitations, but more likely to accept if they responded. Women invited to review responded to the invitation similarly regardless of whether the editor inviting them was male or female, but men invited to review were both less likely to respond and more likely to decline if the editor was female. Review scores given to papers did not differ between male and female reviewers, and final decisions (proportion of papers rejected) did not differ between male and female editors. The proportion of women among selected reviewers decreased with editor seniority when the editor was male but increased with editor seniority when the editor was female. Thus, the gender ratio of selected reviewers differed little between early-career male and female editors but differed a lot between late-career (more senior) male and female editors. Individuals invited to review were less likely to agree to review if the editor was more senior. Editor gender, seniority and geographic location affect who is invited to review for Functional Ecology, and how invitees respond to review invitations, but not the final outcome of the peer review process. To increase diversity of reviewer populations, journals should increase gender, age and geographic diversity of their editorial boards.
Data from: Gender differences in peer review outcomes and manuscript impact at six journals of ecology and evolution
The productivity and performance of men is generally rated more highly than that of women in controlled experiments, suggesting conscious or unconscious gender biases in assessment. The degree to which editors and reviewers of scholarly journals exhibit gender biases that influence outcomes of the peer review process remains uncertain due to substantial variation among studies. We test whether gender predicts the outcomes of editorial and peer review for >23,000 research manuscripts submitted to six journals in ecology and evolution from 2010 to 2015. Papers with female and male first authors were equally likely to be sent for peer review. However, papers with female first authors obtained, on average, slightly worse peer review scores and were more likely to be rejected after peer review, though the difference varied among journals. These gender differences appear to be partly due to differences in authorial roles. Papers for the which the first author deferred corresponding authorship to a coauthor (which women do more often than men) obtained significantly worse peer review scores and were less likely to get positive editorial decisions. Gender differences in corresponding authorship explained some of gender differences in peer review scores and positive editorial decisions. In contrast to these observations on submitted manuscripts, gender differences in peer review outcomes were observed in a survey of >12,000 published manuscripts; women reported similar rates of rejection (from a prior journal) before eventual publication. After publication, papers with female authors were cited less often than those with male authors, though the differences are very small (~2%). Our data do not allow us to test hypotheses about mechanisms underlying the gender discrepancies we observed, but strongly support the conclusion that papers authored by women have lower acceptance rates and are less well cited than are papers authored by men in ecology.
Data from: Your infections are what you eat: how host ecology shapes the helminth parasite communities of lizards
1. Understanding how parasite communities are assembled, and the factors that influence their richness, can improve our knowledge of parasite-host interactions and help to predict the spread of infectious diseases. Previous comparative analyses have found significant influences of host ecology and life history, but focused on a few select host taxa. 2. Host diet and habitat use play key roles in the acquisition of parasitic helminths as many are trophically-transmitted, making these attributes potentially key indicators of infection risk. Given the paucity of comparative studies with non-piscine, non-avian or non-mammalian hosts, it is critical to examine the degree to which host ecology influences parasite communities in other host taxa in order to identify common drivers. 3. We examined helminth diversity in over 350 species of lizards in relation to their body mass, ecology (diet and habitat use), and life history (clutch size, and ovo- or viviparity) using previously published data. 4. Overall, lizard species with herbivorous diets harboured fewer types of helminths (especially larval stages), with similar results for traits that were ultimately strongly associated with diet (host mass and habitat use). Large hosts tended to be herbivores with few helminth types whereas species utilizing arboreal habitats typically consumed some animal matter and hosted more helminths. 5. Understanding how host ecology and life history are related to their parasite assemblages has significant implications for the risk of acquiring novel parasites. Our results indicate an overwhelming influence of host diet such that many helminths may be relatively easily acquired by hosts in new ranges, or through dietary shifts.
Data from: Host-jump drives rapid and recent ecological speciation of the emergent fungal pathogen Colletotrichum kahawae
Ecological speciation through host-shift has been proposed as a major route for the appearance of novel fungal pathogens. The growing awareness of their negative impact on global economies and public health created an enormous interest in identifying the factors that are most likely to promote their emergence in nature. In this work, a combination of pathological, molecular and geographic data was used to investigate the recent emergence of the fungus Colletotrichum kahawae (Ck). Ck emerged as a specialist pathogen causing Coffee Berry Disease in Coffea arabica, due to its unparalleled adaptation of infecting green coffee berries. Contrary to current hypotheses, our results suggest that a recent host-jump underlay the speciation of Ck from a generalist group of fungi seemingly harmless to coffee berries. We posit that immigrant inviability and a predominantly asexual behavior could have been instrumental in driving speciation by creating pleiotropic interactions between local adaptation and reproductive patterns. Moreover, we estimate that Ck began its diversification at less than 2,200 yrs leaving a very short time frame since the divergence from its sibling lineage (∼5,600 yrs), during which a severe drop in Ck's effective population size occurred. This further supports a scenario of recent introduction and subsequent adaptation to C. arabica. Phylogeographic data revealed low levels of genetic polymorphism but provided the first geographically consistent population structure of Ck, inferring the Angolan population as the most ancestral and the East African populations as the most recently derived. Altogether, these results highlight the significant role of host specialization and asexuality in the emergence of fungal pathogens through ecological speciation.
Data from: Parasites structuring ecological communities: the mistletoe footprint in Mediterranean pine forests
1. The capacity of parasitic plants in structuring natural communities is increasingly recognized. These plants can affect the structure, composition and productivity of plant communities by modifying the competitive balance between hosts and non-host species and by altering the quantity and quality of resources entering the soil. Despite the progress made in this field, there is still a lack of integrative studies showing the structuring capacity of parasitic plants in forest ecosystems, where their effect may be less detectable due to the long lifespan of the system. 2. In this study we evaluate the long-term impact of Viscum album subsp. austriacum on the woody-plant community of a Mediterranean pineland. This mistletoe remains several years on the same host, exerting long-lasting, spatially concentrated effects on community and ecosystem characteristics. Mistletoe concentrates zoochorous seeds and induces changes in the soil fertility and light availability beneath the canopy of parasitized trees, which have the potential to facilitate zoochorous-plant colonization, recruitment, and growth at the same time as it weakens the host. Here, we analyse whether mistletoe-driven changes could result in a nucleus of zoochorous woody plants nourished by the abundant organic detritus accumulated under the host. We also analyse whether mistletoe effects can expand after host death. 3. We selected unparasitized, parasitized, and dead parasitized Pinus nigra trees, in which we studied the joint effect of mistletoe-mediated changes in soil nutrient and light availability, with the seed rain, seed predation, seedling establishment, plant recruitment, and plant growth. Light- and soil-nutrient resources were greater under parasitized trees, and intensified after host death. The seed rain was maximum under parasitized trees, where seedling recruitment proved more likely. Sapling density, richness, and growth increased with the development of parasitism. 4. Our findings show that Viscum album exerts a strong and lasting impact on the structure and dynamics of Mediterranean pinelands, with parasitized trees acting as centres for the establishment and growth of colonizing fleshy-fruited woody species, which, over the long term, promote vegetation shifts by limiting dominant pine trees and facilitating less represented fleshy-fruited shrubs.
Data from: The ecology of sexual conflict: temperature variation in the social environment can drastically modulate male harm to females
1. Sexual conflict is a fundamental driver of male/female adaptations, an engine of biodiversity, and a crucial determinant of population viability. Sexual conflict frequently leads to behavioural adaptations that allow males to displace their rivals, but in doing so harm those same females they are competing to access, which can decrease population viability and facilitate extinction. 2. We are far from understanding what factors modulate the intensity of sexual conflict, and particularly the role of ecology in mediating underlying behavioural adaptations. 3. In this study we show that, in Drosophila melanogaster, variations in environmental temperature of ±4ºC decrease male harm impact on female fitness by between 45-73%. Rate-sensitive fitness estimates indicate that such modulation results in an average rescue of population productivity of 7% at colder temperatures and 23% at hotter temperatures. 4. Our results: a) show that the thermal ecology of social interactions can drastically modulate male harm via behaviourally plasticity, b) identify a potentially crucial ecological factor to understand how sexual conflict operates in nature, and c) along with recent studies, suggest that behaviourally plastic responses can lessen the negative effect of sexual conflict on population viability in the face of rapid environmental temperature changes.
Data from: Fine-scale appendage structure of the Cambrian trilobitomorph Naraoia spinosa and its ontogenetic and ecological implications
<p>Trilobitomorphs are a species-rich Palaeozoic arthropod assemblage that unites trilobites with several other lineages that share similar appendage structure. Post-embryonic development of the exoskeleton is well documented for some trilobitomorphs, especially trilobites, but little is known of the ontogeny of their soft parts, limiting understanding of their autecology. Here we document appendage structure of the Cambrian naraoiid trilobitomorph Naraoia spinosa by computed microtomography, resulting in three-dimensional reconstructions of appendages at both juvenile and adult stages. The adult has dense, strong spines on the protopods of post-antennal appendages, implying a predatory/scavenging behavior. Absence of such gnathobasic structures but instead tiny protopodal bristles and a number of endopodal setae suggests a detritus-feeding strategy for the juvenile. Our data add strong morphological evidence for ecological-niche shifting by Cambrian arthropods during their life cycles. A conserved number of appendages across the sampled developmental stages demonstrates that Naraoia ceased budding off new appendages by the mid-juvenile stage.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
Data from: Cryptic ecology among host generalist Campylobacter jejuni in domestic animals
Homologous recombination between bacterial strains is theoretically capable of preventing the separation of daughter clusters, and producing cohesive clouds of genotypes in sequence space. However, numerous barriers to recombination are known. Barriers may be essential such as adaptive incompatibility, or ecological, which is associated with the opportunities for recombination in the natural habitat. Campylobacter jejuni is a gut colonizer of numerous animal species and a major human enteric pathogen. We demonstrate that the two major generalist lineages of C. jejuni do not show evidence of recombination with each other in nature, despite having a high degree of host niche overlap and recombining extensively with specialist lineages. However, transformation experiments show that the generalist lineages readily recombine with one another in vitro. This suggests ecological rather than essential barriers to recombination, caused by a cryptic niche structure within the hosts.
Data from: Developmental and ecological benefits of the maternally transmitted microbiota in a dung beetle
To complete their development, diverse animal species rely on the presence of communities of symbiotic microbiota that are vertically transmitted from mother to offspring. In the dung beetle genus Onthophagus, newly hatched larvae acquire maternal gut symbionts by the consumption of a maternal fecal secretion known as the pedestal. Here, we investigate the role of pedestal symbionts in mediating the normal development of Onthophagus gazella. Through the stepwise removal of environmental and maternal sources of microbial inoculation, we find that pedestal microbiota can enhance both overall growth and developmental rate in O. gazella. Further, we find that the beneficial effects of symbionts on developmental outcomes are amplified in the presence of ecologically relevant temperature and desiccation stressors. Collectively, our results suggest that the pedestal may provide an adaptive function by transmitting beneficial microbiota to developing dung beetle larvae and that the importance of microbiota for developmental and fitness outcomes may be context dependent.
Data from: Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of coexisting lineages during a long-term experiment with E. coli
Closely related organisms usually occupy similar ecological niches, leading to intense competition and even extinction. Such competition also can promote rapid phenotypic evolution and ecological divergence. This process may end with the stable occupation of distinct niches or, alternatively, may entail repeated bouts of evolution. Here we examine two Escherichia coli lineages, called L and S, that coexisted for more than 30,000 generations after diverging from a common ancestor. Both lineages underwent sustained phenotypic evolution based on global transcription and resource utilization profiles, with L seeming to encroach over time on the catabolic profile of S. Reciprocal invasion experiments with L and S clones from the same or different generations revealed evolutionary changes in their interaction, including an asymmetry that confirmed the encroachment by L on the niche of the S lineage. In general, L and S clones from the same generation showed negative frequency-dependent effects, consistent with stable coexistence. However, L clones could invade S clones from both earlier and later generations, whereas S clones could invade only L clones from earlier generations. In this system, the long-term coexistence of competing lineages evidently depended on successive rounds of evolution, rather than on initial divergence followed by a static equilibrium.
Data from: Avoiding erroneous citations in ecological research: read before you apply
The Shannon–Wiener index is a popular nonparametric metric widely used in ecological research as a measure of species diversity. We used the Web of Science database to examine cases where papers published from 1990 to 2015 mislabelled this index. We provide detailed insights into causes potentially affecting use of the wrong name 'Weaver' instead of the correct 'Wiener'. Basic science serves as a fundamental information source for applied research, so we emphasize the effect of the type of research (applied or basic) on the incidence of the error. Biological research, especially applied studies, increasingly uses indices, even though some researchers have strongly criticized their use. Applied research papers had a higher frequency of the wrong index name than did basic research papers. The mislabeling frequency decreased in both categories over the 25-year period, although the decrease lagged in applied research. Moreover, the index use and mistake proportion differed by region and authors' countries of origin. Our study also provides insight into citation culture, and results suggest that almost 50% of authors have not actually read their cited sources. Applied research scientists in particular should be more cautious during manuscript preparation, carefully select sources from basic research, and read theoretical background articles before they apply the theories to their research. Moreover, theoretical ecologists should liaise with applied researchers and present their research for the broader scientific community. Researchers should point out known, often-repeated errors and phenomena not only in specialized books and journals but also in widely used and fundamental literature.
Data from: A multiple peak adaptive landscape based on feeding strategies and roosting ecology shaped the evolution of cranial covariance structure and morphological differentiation in phyllostomid bats
We explored the evolution of morphological integration in the most noteworthy example of adaptive radiation in mammals, the New World leaf-nosed bats, using a massive dataset and by combining phylogenetic comparative methods and quantitative genetic approaches. We demonstrated that the phenotypic covariance structure remained conserved on a broader phylogenetic scale but also showed a substantial divergence between inter-clade comparisons. Most of the phylogenetic structure in the integration space can be explained by splits at the beginning of the diversification of major clades. Our results provide evidence for a multiple peak adaptive landscape in the evolution of cranial covariance structure and morphological differentiation, based upon diet and roosting ecology. In this scenario, the successful radiation of phyllostomid bats was triggered by the diversification of dietary and roosting strategies, and the invasion of these new adaptive zones lead to changes in phenotypic covariance structure and average morphology. Our results suggest that intense natural selection preceded the invasion of these new adaptive zones and played a fundamental role in shaping cranial covariance structure and morphological differentiation in this hyper-diverse clade of mammals. Finally, our study demonstrates the power of combining comparative methods and quantitative genetic approaches when investigating the evolution of complex morphologies.
Data from: Testing the role of ecology and life history in structuring genetic variation across a landscape: a trait-based phylogeographic approach
Hypotheses to explain phylogeographic structure traditionally invoke geographic features, but often fail to provide a general explanation for spatial patterns of genetic variation. Organisms' intrinsic characteristics might play more important roles than landscape features in determining phylogeographic structure. We developed a novel comparative approach to explore the role of ecological and life-history variables in determining spatial genetic variation and tested it on frog communities in Panama. We quantified spatial genetic variation within 31 anuran species based on mitochondrial DNA sequences, for which hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation analyses rejected simultaneous divergence over a common landscape. Regressing ecological variables, on genetic divergence allowed us to test the importance of individual variables revealing that body size, current landscape resistance, geographic range, biogeographic origin and reproductive mode were significant predictors of spatial genetic variation. Our results support the idea that phylogeographic structure represents the outcome of an interaction between organisms and their environment, and suggest a conceptual integration we refer to as trait-based phylogeography.
Data from: Quantitative analysis of the ecological dominance of benthic disaster taxa in the aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction
The end-Permian mass extinction, the largest extinction of the Phanerozoic, led to a severe reduction in both taxonomic richness and ecological complexity of marine communities in its aftermath, eventually culminating in a dramatic ecological restructuring of communities. During the Early Triassic recovery interval, disaster taxa proliferated and numerically dominated many marine benthic invertebrate assemblages. These disaster taxa include the bivalve genera Claraia, Unionites, Eumorphotis and Promyalina, and the inarticulate brachiopod Lingularia. The exact nature and extent of their dominance remains uncertain. Here, a quantitative analysis of the dominance of these taxa within the fossil communities of Panthalassa and Tethys benthic realms is undertaken for the stages of the Early Triassic to examine temporal and regional changes in disaster taxon dominance as recovery progresses. Community dominance and disaster taxon abundance is markedly different between Panthalassic and Tethyan communities. In Panthalassa, community evenness is low in the Induan stage, but increases significantly in the Smithian and Spathian. This is coincident with a significant decrease in the relative abundance and occurrence frequency of the disaster taxa, most notably of low-oxygen affinity taxa Claraia and Lingularia. While the disaster taxa are present in post-Induan assemblages, other taxa, including two articulate brachiopod genera, outrank the disaster taxa in relative abundance. In the Tethys, assemblages are generally more even than contemporaneous Panthalassic assemblages. We observe an averaged trend towards more even communities with fewer disaster taxa in both Panthalassic and Tethyan assemblages over time.
Data from: Under the snow: a new camera trap opens the white box of subnivean ecology
Snow covers the ground over large parts of the world for a substantial portion of the year. Yet very few methods are available to quantify biotic variables below the snow, with most studies of subnivean ecological processes relying on comparisons of data before and after the snow cover season. We developed a camera trap prototype to quantify subnivean small mammal activity. The trap consists of a camera that is attached facing downward from the ceiling of a box, which is designed to function as a snow-free tunnel. We tested it by placing nine traps with passive infrared sensors in a subarctic habitat where snow cover lasted for about 6 months. The traps were functional for the whole winter, permitting continuous data collection of site-specific presence and temporal activity patterns of all three small mammal species present (the insectivorous common shrew, Sorex araneus, the herbivorous tundra vole, Microtus oeconomus, and the carnivorous stoat, Mustela erminea) as well as abiotic conditions (presence/absence of snow cover and subnivean temperature). Based on their successful functioning (only 6% of the photographs appeared empty or were of poor quality, whereas ca 80% were of small mammals and the remaining of birds and invertebrates), we discuss how the new camera trap can enable subnivean studies of small mammal communities. This greatly increases the temporal resolution and extent of data collection and thereby provides unpreceded opportunities to understand population and food web dynamics in ecosystems with snow cover.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.